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1976/Bennis/Preface
Preface ... An unconscious conspiracy in contemporary society prevents leaders--no matter what their original vision--from taking charge and making changes. Within any organization, an entrenched bureaucracy with a commitment to the status quo undermines the unwary leader. To make matters worse, certain social forces--the increasing tension between individual rights and the common goo, for example--discourage the emergence of leaders. The narcissistic children of the Me Decade seem unwilling to embrace any vision but their own--a narrow one that excludes the possibility of sacrificing a little bit today to gain something better tomorrow. A corollary of this unwillingness to sacrifice is an unwillingness to cooperate with neighbors. Americans are now going through a self-imposed isolation phase: Each individual feels helpless to affect anything beyond the immediate environment and so retreats into an ever-contracting private world--a phenomenon that manifests itself among the affluent as "cocooning" and among the poor as drug addiction. Activism is on the decline, including the simplest form of activism--voting. People float, but they don't dream. And people without a dream are less easily inspired by a leader's vision. So the bad news is, the arena in which leadership is exercised has deteriorated. The good news is, we have, I believe, a better grasp of the problems and a better sense of the solutions than we did a dozen years ago. ... ... ... I had to go back before I could go forward. I needed to look again at the context of leadership--at our organizations and at society itself--because leaders do not emerge from or function in a vacuum, and there has never been a more challenging context than the one in which we live today. ... In tone and temper, the 1980s were totally different from the 1970s. Indeed, the 1980s were less an extension of the 1970s than they were the result of both the 1960s and the 1970s. In the 1960s, we wanted to make the world better. In the 1970s, we wanted only to make ourselves better. Now, at the start of the 1990s, we seem to be uncertain about whether we can make anything better. ... The book is not overly optimistic. But I do think change is possible--even change for the better. Change begins slowly, however, as, one by one, individuals make the conscious choice to live up to their potential. So Why Leaders Can't Lead is intended for everyone in a position of leadership, or aspiring to such a position; for all those concerned with who is elected, promoted, or appointed to leadership in any kind of organization. It is meant for anyone who holds a government offense; anyone in public service. It is addressed also to professors of business, political science, and public administration; all department heads, deans, administrators, presidents, and chancellors of universities. It is intended for anyone interested in the future of this society. It will help the reader understand the problems facing leaders in this increasingly complex world of ours. At the same time, it will give leaders some practical ideas on how to deal with the troublesome issues that we all face. ...